One field of application of the invention is in actuators having small motors that require a compact construction and light weight, particularly small-scale brushless DC motors which are used in the automotive industry, such as a small motor actuator, a fan and cooler motor, a drive for flap actuators used, for example, in air conditioning units and for cooling the motor etc., the invention not being limited to these applications. Other electric motors could also be used.
Common electric motors generally have a motor housing by means of which they are connected to the housing of the actuator. Electric motors for flap actuators that do not have their own motor housing are also known, their shape being made to conform to a recess in the housing of the actuator in such a manner that allows them to be fixedly supported in the recess. For example, small motors having a partially out-of-round stator are thus supported in a positive fit in an appropriate recess in a wall of the housing.
For known actuators there is the problem that an additional motor housing or specially formed components of the electric motor have to be provided so as to fixedly position the electric motor in the housing of the actuator, further means having to be provided for the purpose of fixing the electric motor to the housing. This accordingly results in an increase in the amount of material needed and requires a more complex assembly of the electric motor in the housing of the actuator.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a means of support and attachment for an electric motor in a housing of an actuator that avoids the disadvantages described above and at the same time allows the simplest possible and most compact construction for the housing.